Land Investing Facts     

 Land Investing-Area Facts 

 

1. Location, Location, Location

       In the Sarasota and Charlotte County area the best and most expensive locations are directly on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. This land has a world-wide market and lots are very valuable, usually priced well over $1,000,000. However there will be no more production of these land parcels while demand continues to increase. Appreciation potential is very high. These lots are located in Boca Grande or Gasparilla Island , Manasota Key, Palm Island, Venice Island , Casey Key , Siesta Key, and Longboat Key. Only few of these lots are ever on the market at any given time. Often the best way to buy these lots is by buying an older house on an attractive lot (teardowns).  

      The next level of pricing is for building lots with boat access to the Gulf of Mexico. The value of these lots vary with how direct and unimpeded the access is to the Gulf. Prices start at around $30,000 for a powerboat canal lot and range up to over  $1,000,000 for a bay or harbor lot. A good supply of these lots exist in Punta Gorda Isles , Burnt Store Isles,  off of  Harbor, Collingswood, and Midway Blvds  in Port Charlotte, in Northwest Port Charlotte, Gulf Cove  and in South Gulf Cove . These lots have very high appreciation potential because it will be  impossible to get government permits to build new similar lots. Within South Gulf Cove  there are large variations in value depending on whether the lot has sailboat access to the Gulf of Mexico and whether it is located close to the canal that gives access to the Gulf. These variations can be over $80,000. In Northwest Port Charlotte  there are Gulf of Mexico access lots that are a relative bargain given their closeness to US41 and I-75 and their lower prices compared to other Gulf access zones. If you are interested in these kind of lots, please go to www.GulfAccessFlorida.com . 

     The third level of pricing is for lots on golf course or with golf course views. These lots start at $20,000 and go up to well over $100,000. There are many such lots available in Rotonda West on the Cape Haze Peninsula . For those that want to live close to golf courses and the Gulf of Mexico, Rotonda Sands, Rotonda Lakes, and Rotonda Heights are  economical options with lots starting at less than $10,000 with central water and Deed Restrictions.  Deep Creek  in Port Charlotte also has golf course lots and is very close to I-75 and Punta Gorda. In Sarasota County, there are occasionally single lots available in golf course communities, but they are rare and usually priced well over $100,000.

     The fourth level of pricing is for freshwater canal or lake front lots with no access to the Gulf of Mexico. Depending on the width of the canal or the size of the lake, these freshwater  lots have  lot premiums of $3,000 to $10,000 over the price of similar lots without waterfront. Good freshwater canal lots can be acquired for $7,000+. These lots are spread out all over the zone and the lot value is substantially affected by the lot's location. The best of these lots are in North Port  between Sumter and Atwater Boulevards. These lots are usually much easier to sell than standard building lots. Buyers of these lots like the extra privacy and the views that come with a canal lot. The Cocoplum Canal and the Snover Canal are a couple of the best North Port Canals. Rotonda Meadows has a nice selection of reasonably priced lakefront lots.

     The next level of pricing is for standard building lots with no waterfront, no golf course,  and no serious location or scrub jay problems(see below).  An investor that buys a package of these lots has an excellent chance of achieving a high rate of return with little downside risk. These lots vary in asking price from $4,000 to $20,000 with most lots in the $5,000-$7,000 range. We are in a buyers market and  sellers often have already reduced their asking prices.  Many investors prefer lots in North Port  because of the perceived quality of Sarasota County schools. Others prefer Englewood for the proximity to the Gulf of Mexico beaches.  Standard building lots are more valuable when:

            -They are close to the Gulf of Mexico

            -They are west or south of  I-75

            -They are less than 7 minutes to schools and commercial centers

            -They have quick access to I-75 and Route 41

            -They are located in zones that have mostly new construction

           -They have no scrub jay problems( see below )

           -They have central water and/or sewer

           -Thet have access to electricity

           -They are in deed restricted communities

           -They are cleared and ready for construction

2. Scrub Jays, An Endangered Species That Endangers Lot Values

      Scrub jays are small birds that have been declared an endangered species. There are large zones of both Sarasota and Charlotte Counties that have been declared scrub jay habitat zones. It is currently very expensive ( and time consuming ) to get building permits in scrub jay zones and as a result the prices of lots in scrub jay zones are severely depressed. There are only a limited number of buyers for these lots who are usually  buying these lots as part of their approval process for other scrub jay lots. 

     If a lot is in a scrub jay zone, you can do a survey that costs about $2,000 to see if scrub jays are really present. In many cases they aren't present. In order to get building permits in zones where scrubjays are present,  you have to submit a mitigation plan to both the federal and state government then either set pay a fee to the federal government so they can set aside land. The fee is usually twice the appraised value of the land to be used for construction. There are specialized environmental consultants that manage this process for landowners. For most building lots, the costs of  getting a permit far exceed the economic value of the land. The building permits once issued are only valid for one year.

     For more information on scrub jays go to the "Local Resources" section of this website and look for the "scrub jay" section. If you are a buyer, I will help you check on the scrub jay status of any lot you are considering.

    Within North Port scrub jay status is more confusing than normal because Sarasota County shows many lots to be red scrub jay that the city doesn't consider to be scrub jay. I'll help you clarify this situation if you run into it.

3. Rapidly Changing Demographics  

      North Port and Port Charlotte are converting from being mostly retirement towns to being the bedroom communities for the Florida West Coast.  Naples, Ft Myers, and Sarasota have become too expensive for working people (teachers, nurses, managers, policemen, construction workers, etc) and they are flocking to the lower cost housing available in this zone.  

     Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf of Mexico beaches combined with excellent weather and many golf courses are very attractive to retirees and they continue to flock to this area, especially the zones around the Cape Haze Peninsula, Punta Gorda, Venice and Sarasota.

4. Commercial Centers

     The main commercial artery of Sarasota and Charlotte County is US  41, also known as Tamiami Trail. South of the City of Sarasota there are major commercial centers on US 41 at the intersections of Jacaranda ( Venice), Sumter (North Port), and Rt 776 (Port Charlotte). The distance a land parcel is from these centers has an important effect on the lot's price. Almost all home buyers state a preference for being close to US 41 and these commercial centers. For investors interested in commercial land, there are many interesting opportunities in this zone with high appreciation potential.

5.Water/Sewer

     Many lots in this zone don't have central water or sewer access. The home builders put in wells, water treatment systems and septic systems as part of their building process. Major exceptions to this rule are South Gulf Cove, Rotonda, Rotonda Sands and Deep Creek.  They all have central water systems and either have or will have central sewer systems. Having central water and sewer adds $1,000 to $2,000+ on to the value of a lot. As more houses get built in a zone, the quality of well water degrades so don't underestimate the value of central water. Many buyers won't buy lots that don't have central water. 

6. Murdock Village/Other Major Projects

     Charlotte County has purchased most of the lots in in an 1,100 acre area near the intersection of US 41 and Rt 776 to develop a major mixed use project that will become the urban center of Charlotte County. To learn more about the Murdock Village project go to www.charlottecountyfl.com . Stock Development of Naples was supposed to be the developer for this $0.6 billion+ project. Stock  was selected in April, 2006 but bowed out of the project in September, 2006 citing  "market conditions". The Charlotte County government selected Kitsen & Partners to replace Stock in October, 2006 but they also backed out in March, 2008. The lots in P-101, P-103 and P-104 should benefit greatly from this massive project if it ever is completed. There are many people that want Florida Gulf Coast University to build a campus for 10,000 students inside this project. 

     On the far western side of North Port, almost  to Venice, Pulte Home's DiVosta subsidiary has started the first phase of the West Villages on Thomas Ranch, a project planned to have 15,000+ homes and commercial facilities spread over 7800 acres. This project is on both sides of US 41 between Rockley Blvd and River Rd.

     At the other end of North Port, a project called Isles of Athenas was being planned for the northeastern corner of North Port. This project covered about 9 square miles  and would have had it's own exit from I-75. The promoter of this project said his plans call for 15,000 homes and a downtown commercial area. This project would have positively effected the values of lots south of the project and east of Atwater if it ever gets built. Unfortunately, the project has been foreclosed on in the spring of 2009. 

    The zones at either side of the US 41 bridge crossing The Peace River/Charlotte Harbor were severely damaged by Hurricane Charley in 2004. This resulted in the demolition of several large buildings and the speed-up of plans to dramatically upgrade this area. New upscale hotels and condo's have been announced for the zone. Individual investors should watch this zone carefully. Although most of the lots in this zone have been built, this is a great area for investing in "tear-downs" 

7. North Port Tax Delinquent Lot Auction

    On January 19, 2006 The Fisher Auction Company ( www.fisherauction.com ) started managing the sale of 2,000 tax delinquent lots for the City of North Port and Sarasota County. The size of this auction  caused a significant disruption in  building lot sales until the main part of the auction ended on February 20, 2006. While the auction was in process, other building lot sales in the zone almost came to a complete stop. The auction successfully sold all but a handful of the lots offered at average sale prices around $30,000 to $35,000. Lots in zones without electricity sold for prices in the $20's and some canal lots sold at prices over $70,000. In the most desirable zones of North Port between Sumter and Toledo Blade and south of Price,  lots sold in the high $30's to the mid $40's.

     In the auction, about 2000 lots were sold at average prices around $33,000. Selling prices for North Port lots are now usually 80 to 90% below the auction prices.   

8. Land Reserves and Their Effect on Land Values

     Both Sarasota and Charlotte Counties have major programs to set up nature preserves and to severely limit development in the zones east of I-75. Over time these programs will push up the values of the remaining land, especially in light of the rapidly increasing population. Sarasota County and the State of Florida control huge parcels of land around the Myakka River which effectively cut off much development in the zone. The recently completed  $350 million  Babcock Ranch project in Charlotte County will tie up 74,000 acres, over 15 percent of the county's land area.

     Florida's budget for 2007 included over $300 million for land acquisition to buy park and nature preserve lands in addition to the Babcock Ranch project.. Sarasota County has an ongoing $250,000,000 land acquisition plan to buy land and preserve it. 

9. The Supply and Demand  for Building Lots

    North Port has about 47,000 unbuilt lots and in the boom years about 3,000 of these lots per year were being used for construction. Starting in late 2006 and continuing through 2011, builders have been selling lots instead of buying.  Of these 47,000 lots,  about 25 percent are in the far eastern area of North Port where there is no electricity and no construction at this time. This leaves at least  20 year supply of lots in the zones being constructed today.

   Charlotte County has about 110,000 unbuilt lots that are being used up at the rate of  around 1,000 lots per year in normal years. The rate of usage of these lots has decreased in the last four years and there is an ample supply of lots available at current usage rates. An investor in Charlotte County lots has to be very selective and buy in the locations most likely to increase in value. The zones most likely to increase in value in Charlotte County are Gulf of Mexico access lots,  South Gulf Cove, Rotonda, Punta Gorda, and the zone close to the Murdock Village project.

    In the areas of Venice and the City of Sarasota there are scattered opportunities to buy vacant land or "teardown" houses. Prices are much higher and more stable than the prices in North Port and Charlotte County. 

9. Getting to Know the Area

    I will be glad to show you this area and help you find the best investment opportunities. Just call me at 941-661-2577 and we'll set a time. I will also send you free real estate maps of the area if you send me your mailing address. The real estate maps show the zones and map coordinates that are refenced in MLS listings so they are very valuable to your search.

  If you subscribe to my "Top Ten" e-mails you will also get regular monthly market updates on how the building lot market is evolving. You can click on the link to do this or e-mail me at abroslat@ureach.com . You can call me at 941-661-2577 at any time if have more questions.